Introduction to Swordsoul in Master Duel

With the latest update, Master Duel added the Refined Blade Selection Pack, containing the much anticipated Swordsouls. These Synchro Summon-oriented Wyrm Types can hold their own in the current meta, being capable of creating boards with multiple negations and locking the opponent out of certain Attributes.

In this Guide we will cover the purpose of the individual cards, an exemplary decklist, and advice on crafting priorities. For details on the combos the deck can produce, check out our follow-up Guide.

Table of Contents

• Card Overview
  
  • Swordsoul - Main Deck Monsters
  • Swordsoul - Spells/Traps
  • Swordsoul - Extra Deck
  • Tenyi
  • Yang Zing & Nemeses
• Decklist
• Crafting Priorities

Card Overview

To get things started, we will go into detail on every card that made the list. As with any shortened card description, it's best to assume that every effect mentioned is a hard once per turn unless stated otherwise.

Swordsoul - Main Deck Monsters

The Main Deck Monster line-up can be categorized with one simple sentence: Those that summon Tuner Tokens and those that don't. The latter, to which The Iris Swordsoul and Swordsoul Auspice Chunjun belong to, aren't reliable enough to make the cut. We will describe the three main playmakers first by their Token Summon condition and then their added effect when used as Material for a Synchro Summon.

• Swordsoul of Mo Ye - On Summon, reveal a Swordsoul card or Wyrm Type in hand // Draw 1 card.
• Swordsoul of Taia - Once per turn, Banish a Swordsoul card or Wyrm Type from the GY // Send a Swordsoul card or Wyrm Type from Deck to the GY.
• Swordsoul Strategist Longyuan - Special Summon itself and a Token after discarding a Swordsoul card or Wyrm Type from hand // Inflict 1200 Damage to the opponent.

Another essential component is Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous, which can stand in for either Taia or Mo Ye.

Due to every Token being the same Level 4 Tuner, the most common Synchro line will be 4 + 4 and 4 + 6. Keep in mind that for as long as the Token stays on field, only Synchro Monsters are allowed to come out of the Extra Deck.

Swordsoul - Spells/Traps

For the backrow, we have a set of two Spells and two Traps. One thing they have in common is their on banish trigger effects. The Traps Summon the already touched on Token, whereas the Spells modify the Level of a Swordsoul or Wyrm on field by 1.

• Swordsoul Emergence - A search Spell that goes beyond the archetype that birthed it. Any Wyrm can be accessed, provided a Synchro Monster is present.
• Swordsoul Sacred Summit - Monster Reborn, but limited to your own Swordsouls. Same as Emergence, can be upgraded to also work on Wyrms. 
• Swordsoul Blackout - Targeted destruction at the cost of one of the Wyrms on your side. Cannot be activated until the opponent controls at least 2 cards. Works even if your Wyrm is immune to destruction.
• Swordsoul Assessment - Negligible ATK boost by up to 1500. The GY banish could turn into an upside, but this wouldn't make the cut even if it were a Spell.

Swordsoul - Extra Deck

Currently, two of the three existing Swordsoul Synchros are implemented in Master Duel. The pair we already have do a nice job of covering the important Levels: 8 and 10. The former, Swordsoul Grandmaster - Chixiao, is a searcher and on field Monster negation bundled into one. Having a part of the end board also contribute to extending your plays is quite a valuable asset.

Swordsoul Supreme Sovereign - Chengying is the big Level 10 that packs protection against effect destruction and a simultanous non-targeting banish of the opposing GY and field, once another card is banished. On top of that, it gains 100 ATK/DEF for every banished card while debuffing every opposing Monster by the same amount.

Tenyi

A secondary archetype that revolves all around non-effect Monsters. Tenyi Main Monsters all share the ability to Special Summon from hand as long as no Effect Monster is on your field. Meaning, the first one blocks any other from doing the same. Fortunately, there is Monk of the Tenyi, A Link-1 non-effect Monster that replaces the first Tenyi to allow a second one to hit the field.

Additionaly, all 6 of them come with an added effect that can activate either in the hand or GY by banishing themselves, while you control a non-effect Monster. Swordsoul's Tuner Token (or any Token for that matter) counts as just that. Three of the six Tenyis in Main fit well in Swordsoul, so we'll first delve into their effects.

• Tenyi Spirit - Ashuna - Level 7 and probably the best one to open. Summons any other Tenyi from the Deck, but locks you into Wyrm Type Special Summons.
• Tenyi Spirit - Vishuda - Also Level 7. A necessary third wheel for variety to Summon with Ashuna. Can return an opposing card to hand.
• Tenyi Spirit - Adhara -  A Level 1 Tuner, which enable a great deal of plays, including Halqifibrax. Retrieves another one of your banished Wyrms to hand.

In terms of Spells, Tenyis have a couple of tools to populate the board. However, both Vessel for the Dragon Cycle and Heavenly Dragon Circle can't be considered starters, as they rely on non-effect Monsters to fully function. Circle comes to best use when dodging targeted handtraps, such as Effect Veiler and Infinite Impermanence. Cycle, on the other hand, puts one more Monster into play under the right circumstances.

Furthermore, Tenyi has its own little Extra Deck arsenal, consisting of Shaman of the Tenyi and Draco Berserker of the Tenyi, next to the already familiar Monk of the Tenyi. To get Synchros back online, Shaman lets you revive either Mo Ye or Taia for the cost of a discard. Meanwhile Berserker is a beast when it comes to cleaning up the opposing field going second, though it's one of the less mendatory inclusions.

Yang Zing & Nemeses

During the inception of the Wyrm Type, Yang Zings were the first archetype to be given the newly added tribe. Now that almost 8 years have passed since then, their Main Deck cards have missed the timing in more ways than just one, and the Extra Deck is the only aspect worth going into detail for.

The numbers next to the following four Synchro Monsters stands for their Level:

• Baxia, Brightness of the Yang Zing - [8] Surprisingly, Baxia's effects are only limited by the amount of copies you are capable of bringing out. Sounds dangerous, considering Level 8 is easily reached. One of its effects even sets you up for another Synchro by reviving any Level 4 after destroying a card you control. Shuffling multiple cards back is still a powerful way of removal, even if it's targeted. 
• Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing - [7] The lengths one would go to Summon any Wyrm from the Deck... Blowing up your own Yazi on the first turn takes a bit of setup, either via Baxia or Auroradon. Without Auroradon's Tokens, Yazi becomes a whole lot tougher to Summon, though.
• Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing - [9] The biggest of the Yang Zing and also the best one to end on. It stops any effects of the Monsters that share Attributes with the Yang Zings used for its Summon. Ideally, after Baxia spent all its effects, Adhara can bump it up by +1 to bring out Chaofeng. This way we've used a LIGHT Yang Zing to Summon it, which is arguably the second most important Attribute.
• Denglong, First of the Yang Zing - [5] In an elaborate version of the Halqifibrax combo, Denglong and O-Lion could also be included, resulting in an additional negate in the form of a Nine Pillars of Yang Zing. In a best of one format, this might just be too much of a liability to prefer over the more straightforward version.

Last, but not least, we've got Archnemeses Protos, belonging to the whacky bunch that is the Nemeses archetype. The synergy is rather incidental, as no other nemeses is a Wyrm. It simply turns out that Protos is searchable, thanks to Emergence. Once Chixiao hits the field, Protos is just around the corner. Even without knowing what Deck the opponent is playing, you can always call DARK at no loss, locking them out of powerplays such as Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer, Shuraig, and Accesscode Talker.

Decklist

Crafting Priorities

Before generating anything, make sure to spend your expendable Gems on the Refined Blade Selection Pack, as it has a small pool of cards, increasing the chance on pulling Swordsouls. If you are short on CP and have to make a decision on which UR to craft, we've got you covered. In general, whenever you have to ask yourself that question, picture what the bear essential main combo will be that you want your Deck to accomplish. 

Normal Summon Swordsoul of Mo Ye with any Wyrm in hand leads to Swordsoul Grandmaster - Chixiao and Baronne de Fleur. To see such a starting hand consistently, Incredible Ecclesia, the Virtuous and Swordsoul Emergence are essential. Those are the first 5 high rarity cards to go after.

Some inclusions to look out for are:

• Mecha Phantom Beast Auroradon and Crystron Halqifibrax are only good together. There's no need to craft only one of them, and also no point in adding Deskbot 001.
• Without Auroradon, Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing comes up too rarely and can be skipped as well.
• Draco Berserker of the Tenyi and PSY-Framelord Omega are flexible and can be replaced if you've pulled any other useful Level 8 Synchro Monster. Unfortunately, there's no real N/R replacement, other than a third Monk of the Tenyi. For SRs, Crimson Blader is the most competent budget choice, followed by Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend.

If you still have leftover Gems, or want the one free pack, consider unlocking the Dragon Spirits Secret Pack by first crafting one Baxia. All Tenyis and Yang Zings are featured in this one.

Are you considering to get into Swordsoul? Or are you tired of facing them and would prefer we cover ways to counter them effectively? Share your thoughts in the comments below!